Big mistake. When the campground said, "spot for 40' rig" I guess they meant a 40' motorhome that could drive right into the spot. We have a 34' trailer towed by a 27' long truck The road was one-way and the spot was angled the wrong way to allow easy back in. AND there were trees on both sides of the lot. After I tried for 15 minutes or so with no success, another camper came over and said, "A couple of years ago I watched a guy try to back in there with a much smaller rig than yours. He ended up going the wrong way around the loop." It was still a challenge, but that worked. Carol is an amazing spotter.
It was noon before we got situated. It was warm enough to open the door and windows and enjoy the fresh mountain air. Boots found all sorts of new scents.
Possibly THIS is what he was smelling. They were in the field next to our camp.
The bull had a bad leg and judging by the size of his horns I suspect he had some age on him too. We never did see him stand up but he was a big one and impressive, even laying in the sage brush.
A young bull showed up later. As is usually the case, there were a bunch of people standing around with big cameras with giant lens and tripods. There was one guy standing next to us with the camera sans big lens and tripod. And he was not taking pictures. And he was not looking happy. I said, "Got enough pictures for today?" He said, "Yes. Now I'm waiting for him to move so I can get my camera bag and tripod." They were where he'd left them when the moose came in his direction and now the moose was "examining" the bag. I didn't dare laugh out loud but it took all my effort not to. He said, "I had one charge me yesterday and that's not going to happen again". Eventually the moose lost interest and moved across the road and right through the middle of the campground. Ya kinda get the idea that not much phases them.
At the Moose Junction Visitor's Center Carol said, "I just heard a cat meow." When we looked we found Steph holding "Bugsy" a Bengal cat. He is the 9th generation away from the breeding of a domestic cat and an Asia Leopard. According to Steph they are very loving, easily trained and almost all of the wild traits have been bred out. Check them out at http://busybeesbengals.com/
But Carol's best shot of the day was looking east at the Gros Ventres Mountains to see the sunrise.
The clouds that made the sunrise picture so beautiful also blocked the sun from hitting much of the Tetons.
But they are beautiful in any light.
Even when they are capped in clouds. The big white wall is a glacier.
A short drive off the scenic route is the site of Menor's Ferry and General Store. Bill Menor built it in 1892 and his brother, Holiday built a lime kiln on the far river bank. By the early 1900's his store was serving locals and dudes alike. He also ran a blacksmith shop, grew vegetables for the dude ranches and, of course, ran the ferry. The store is now open and sells period items at modern prices. But it is free to go in and see the merchandise and furnishings.
I was confused when I first looked at the ferry because there didn't seem to be any means of propulsion. The ferry was attached with two ropes to a cable to keep it from floating downstream but there was not a second cable to pull it back and forth across the river. And no oars. Then I looked closely at the one cable. The ferry platform is sitting on two boats with sharp bows pointing upstream. Click on the picture to see how the operator cants the bow of the boats into the current to move the boat across the river and back.
Near Menor's is the Chapel of the Transfiguration, an Episcopal chapel built in 1925 to serve the people of this section of Jackson Hole. Services are still held there in the summer.
Next we'll go farther north along the range and share other vistas and interesting places.
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